Nesting Dolls
by gossip stone
Summary: They were all like dolls, Ty Lee realized.


Author's Note: Hmm. This is my first Avatar fic. I'm not sure how I like it. It didn't exactly come out the way I wanted it to. Nonetheless, I decided to upload it. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: _Avatar: the Last Airbender _is not mine.

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><p>They were like dolls.<p>

It had occurred to her as a child- she and her six sisters, exactly alike, though, due to the age gaps, varying in size.

She couldn't remember at what age she had thought to compare them to the beautiful nesting dolls her mother kept in the sitting room, but suddenly, afterwards, she no longer played with them. The mere sight of them turned her stomach. Her parents became confused when, one day, they found the dainty porcelain dolls smashed into a million pieces with sharp, jagged edges on the otherwise spotless hardwood floor.

They had replaced them with a matching set without a thought.

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><p>It was fun, being a circus performer. At first.<p>

But soon she found herself missing the way Reika and Rin would argue over who would spend the day with Hiroto. She yearned for the sound of Tomoki's laughter when she caught a glimpse of a small girl squealing in joy at the sight of a platypus bear. When she smelled a hint of jasmine on one of the more refined patrons, Satsuki's wide grey eyes and shining brown hair came to mind.

She didn't miss her parents, though. Not at all. They had unknowingly pitted the girls against one another, clamoring for their parents' affection and hating the others who received it. The carefree times of childhood had slipped from their grasps as they grew into young women, into teenagers, into adolescents and turned on one another. If she closed her eyes, she recalled staying up late, holding Rin's hand as they ran down to the beach, kicking up the soft white sand and sending it flying in showers behind them. She remembered sitting in front of Yoko's vanity, trying to hold in the giggles as her sister tickled her with cosmetics like rouge and the liquid eye shadow that slid across her young skin and left stains for days. When she had opened her eyes wide and gasped at her reflection in the mirror, Yoko and Kaori had laughed at her bewildered expression and tweaked her plump cheeks, insisting that she was gorgeous.

Returning home two years after the war to end all wars had been a shock for the pretty sixteen year old. Yoko had cut all her hair off, and it now hung gracefully to her chin. Satsuki was dating a peasant boy from the colonies. Reika had given up on Hiroto and was training to become a shrine maiden. When Ty Lee asked her why, she simply shrugged.

"I figured it was time to do something different. Something that… sets me apart."

The bubbly young woman had understood instantly what her sister meant. Standing in the market with her, watching the children run around… she confessed.

"I was jealous of you."

Reika didn't look surprised. "Of me? Or everyone?"

Ty Lee hesitated. "Of… everyone, I guess. I didn't want to be like those dolls. If you lost one, you could just pull out another one and everything would be okay. Nobody would ever care about the missing one."

Reika stared at her younger sister and shook her head. "Ty, have you ever seen an incomplete set of nesting dolls?"

Receiving no answer, she continued. "It's wrong. You can tell something is out of place. The dolls all complement each other, in a way. In size. The biggest one takes care of them all, and going on down the line, it was the same, until one is left. The smallest one, the baby. And everyone takes care of that one."

There was a pause.

"That one was you."

Ty Lee looked away, her grey eyes roaming over the market. Ever since the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the world was… freer. The kids playing without a care in the world were no doubt peasants in a town that had been ruthlessly ruled by nobles before. Her parents had disappeared with the downfall of the Phoenix King, and none of her sisters had heard from them since.

The world was free.

Ty Lee was free.

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><p>End Note: Yeah, none of her sisters had names in the series, but I don't consider them OCs if they were mentioned in canon. ;D Anyway, I'm not totally satisfied with this, and I may change it later. I dunno. Reviews pl0x?<p> 


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